June 11, 2008

2008 California/Carolina League All-Star Rosters

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Former University of Dayton baseball player Craig Stammen has been selected to his first All-Star game in an announcement made Tuesday. Stammen, who is currently a member of the Potomac Nationals, will represent the Carolina League All-Star team and will play in the California-Carolina League All-Star Game on June 24 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Stammen, a native of Versailles, Ohio, was originally drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 12th round of the 2005 MLB Draft. He pitched three years for the Flyers and ended his career as UD's "Strikeout King" with 185 punch outs, which now ranks second all-time. He ranks third in career saves (10), fourth in appearances (60), fifth in career innings pitched (231.2) and complete games (12).

The 6-3, 210 pound righthander makes the All-Star squad after posting a 2-2 record and a league-best 2.02 ERA. The 24-year-old has split time between the bullpen and the starting rotation. In six relief appearances, the 2005 12th-round selection held opponents to just a .183 batting average against him. He was promoted to Triple-A Columbus where he made one appearance before returning the P-Nats and joining the starting rotation. Stammen made arguably the best start of his four-year pro career on May 26 against the Lynchburg Hillcats, setting career-highs with 10 strikeouts and eight innings pitched.

The 2008 first half Northern division champion Potomac Nationals send the second-most representatives from the Carolina League to Advanced-A's mid-summer classic behind only the host Myrtle Beach Pelicans who have six selections.

In his final season as a Flyer in 2005, Stammen was 9-6 with a team-best 2.80 ERA which also ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He was second in the conference with 106.0 innings pitched and sixth with career-high 77 strikeouts. Stammen was UD's opening day starter and remained in the top starting role throughout the season. His nine wins are the second most in Flyer single-season history and he surrendered two earned runs in 10 of his 15 starts and pitched six innings or more 14 times. Stammen's final start of the 2005 season was a seven-strikeout complete-game win over Duquesne, which was Dayton's first ever A-10 Tournament victory. Also a strong competitor in the classroom, Stammen was selected to the A-10 Academic All-Conference Team while leading UD to a school record 36 wins. It was also Dayton's third of four berths in the A-10 Championship.

He spent his first two seasons as a Flyer mostly coming out of the bullpen collecting his first career save as a freshman and nine more as a sophomore, which is UD's single-season record. He has been a power pitcher for his entire career at Dayton, but has shown control as well with 185 strikeouts and just 73 walks (2.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio) in 231.2 career innings pitched.

Dayton tallied a 31-25 overall record in 2008 to finish seventh in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference. UD posted its fifth 30-win season in program history, which have all come since 2001 under the direction of ninth-year head coach Tony Vittorio. Dayton also became just the second team in NCAA history to be hit by pitch more than 100 times in consecutive seasons as it was plunked a school-record 107 times in 2008. The Flyer pitching staff was also one of the best overall in the nation with a 4.24 ERA that ranked among the Top 50 in the nation.